Panasonic unveils compact SDR-S7 camcorder

Panasonic on Wednesday announced a new portable camcorder, the SDR-S7. The SDR-S7 weighs just 5.6 ounces and fits into a pocket but is only capable of recording MPEG2-format video in a 640x480 VGA resolution in either 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios. Storage comes exclusively via SD/SDHC cards allowing for up to 13 hours of video with a 16GB card. Video transfer to computers comes via a USB 2.0-enabled connection.

The camera can record from standby mode in just 0.6 seconds after pressing the side-mounted record button, and power up in 3.8 seconds. Battery life is rated at 70 minutes, while the camera measures just over 4 inches long by 2.3 inches tall and 1.6 inches thick, making it smaller than Sony's HD-capable TG1. It features 10X optical zoom and a 2.7-inch LCD screen. Panasonic's MotionSD STUDIO 1.3 video editing software is included.

The SDR-S7 will be available in Japan on April 25 in silver or black and sell for the approximate equivalent of $450. A US release is expected in May. [via Impress]